Phrase guide

pleasure principle

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

The principle that human decisions and behavior are strongly motivated by the instinctual desire of the id, arising in infancy, to experience pleasure and avoid pain.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: human-sciences, medicine, psychoanalysis, psychology, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

(psychoanalysis) the governing principle of the id; the principle that an infant seeks gratification and fails to distinguish fantasy from reality

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: pleasure-pain principle, pleasure-unpleasure principle

Antonyms: reality principle

Broader terms: principle

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

8 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 快樂原則 /快乐原则 (kuàilè yuánzé) — principle that human decisions are motivated by desire
  • Finnish: mielihyväperiaate — principle that human decisions are motivated by desire
  • French: principe de plaisir — principle that human decisions are motivated by desire
  • German: Lustprinzip — principle that human decisions are motivated by desire
  • Greek: αρχή της ευχαρίστησης (archí tis efcharístisis) — principle that human decisions are motivated by desire
  • Hungarian: örömelv — principle that human decisions are motivated by desire
  • Japanese: 快楽原則 (kairaku gensoku) — principle that human decisions are motivated by desire
  • Turkish: haz ilkesi — principle that human decisions are motivated by desire